We went to a couple of restaurants while we were in Boston, some better than others obviously.
The meeting then event I went for was in a restaurant that I had been before and had mixed feelings about so I went with no expectations. Mistral turned out to be lovely-a sun filled welcoming Mediterranean styled room with really nice food and a wonderful staff. There were personal pizzas cut into tiny wedges passed by waiters with tiny tongs, there was tuna tartar and many other lovely little bites. Tres charmant.
After that we went to my absolute favorite restaurant in Boston (and definitely on my top 5 favorite worldwide list-right up there with Per Se!), O-YA. It's on a tiny street that no one ever heard of, around the corner from South Station in what looks like a rough part of town and it's called The Leather District. Inside the restaurant is rustic Japanese. The first time we ate there we were put next to the kitchen as they were the only two seats left that evening and now we make a reservation requesting those two seats! Sitting at the sushi bar, the chairs are high bar stools so you can really watch the master sushi chef's at work, unlike at lesser Japanese places where you sit below the sushi bar and cannot see a thing. To our right is the grill, which we can also see quite clearly at work and then the kitchen. We go late, around 9ish and the restaurant closes at 10 so when we are about 1/2 way through dinner the chef is winding down his night and stands at the kitchen doorway watching...which the first time we went, for me meant I could chat! But it's his wife, the sommelier who is really our source! She and I are foodies and restaurant fanatics together and we are becoming friends!! The food at O-YA is beyond compare! A whole menu of tiny bites of the delicious yet innovative sushi (both fish and meats) and none of those silly American things, like the Philadelphia roll. My favorite piece is the salmon tataki, 2 pieces of salmon sushi over which has been passed, a tiny blowtorch for less than a second so it cooks some of the swirly lines of the salmon, then a tiny dollop of spiced mayonnaise and a slice of grape tomato all over a glorious rice. It's a mass of texture and flavor for which I could go on describing but you want to hear about the other places, right? My husband's favorite dish is the braised short ribs a 2-3 bites of perfectly tender-silky and juicy ultra rich meat braised in sake and soy and surrounded by several perfectly square cubes of potato. So you get the idea...tiny 2 bite dishes perfectly balanced flavors, textures, and colors throughout the whole glorious meal. Which also includes excited foodie chatter between the owner and me!!!
The next night we went to Clio on the recommendation of an important Manhattan chef and my CEO. I've begun to learn about important Boston chef's and apparently Ken Oringer is one. The restaurant is in a hotel built in 1925 so I was expecting greatness. The food was terrific-my husband had a terrific beef two ways type of dish-short ribs and beef cheeks. I had the marinated hamachi and yellow tail for a first course then the Cassoulet of sea urchin and lobster (delicious!!) the problem was the other diners were so blah-no buzz, no excitement, the decor equally so. Ok, we went, I'm glad we did but now it's off the list and we move on to the next one.
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